It's been a while since I regaled you with horrible historical tales but damn, I learned about this guy tonight, and I have to share him with you. I want to tell you about Franz Ludwig Schenk von Castell - the so-called 'Executioner Count'. /1 
Going in, I need to make one thing clear - what is today southern Germany in the late 18th century was a complete shitshow from a law and order perspective. War, weather, economic implosions and plague had all made life outside cities and towns a rather fraught endeavour. /2
Listening to a historian of the period - who happens to also teach police cadets in the modern state of Baden-Württemberg - I heard it claimed that there was almost a 'parallel society' of thieves, robbers and highwaymen outside the cities and especially around main roads. /3
Franz Ludwig was born in 1735, but it wasn't until 1788 that he came up with the idea that would make him the subject of myth for centuries. After losing a rather astounding amount of gold to the infamous pickpocket, 'Schwarze Lies', he decided that enough was enough... /4
As local nobility in the town of Oberdischingen, not too far from Ulm, while expanding his own residence, he also decided to build a fully working prison, the 'Fronfreste', which could house everyone from petty crooks to those sentenced to death. /5
Not only that, but he went to the surrounding towns and cities and signed contracts to house and sometimes execute prisoners. He essentially made himself a one-man prison-industrial complex, his contracts ending up in the hundreds. /6
Franz Ludwig worked with militias, town patrols & bounty hunters to capture highwaymen, thieves and robbers and bring them back to Oberdischingen. Those who could afford it had decent lodgings, others didn't fare so well - another revenue stream for the 'Executioner Count'. /7
Executions were carried out in the courtyard of the 'Fronfeste'. This was in the form of decapitation, carried out by sword. The Count had his favoured executioner and they worked together for twenty years carrying out 40 executions - give or take a few reprieves. /8
The good times couldn't last however. The coming together of disparate towns and cities into kingdoms and other states led to an improvement in law and order - or at least, no need to outsource it to Franz Ludwig. Slowly, the amount of prisoners in his 'Fronfeste' dwindled. /9
In 1807, the 'Fronfeste' 'mysteriously' burned down. Some say it was an act of revenge. Franz Ludwig knew when to let things lie, however, and stuck to his residence, taking a large hit to his standard of living. He died fourteen years later, in 1821, almost broke. /10
To this day, however, Franz Ludwig is remembered with a mixture of panto hatred and a weird kind of fondness. Locals detest his harsh methods, while secretly thinking he was on a pretty good idea. It's a hell of a thing to see... /11
I'll be writing more about the 'Executioner Count' in an article, so stay tuned to my Twitter feed to see when that turns up. There's a few juicy tidbits I left out of here. ;) /FIN
